Senate Rejects Ratification of UN Disabilities Treaty

J. Michael Smith
HSLDA President

J. Michael Smith is president of HSLDA. He has been an advocate for homeschooling for more than 30 years. Read more >>

Due to your calls, emails, and office visits, the Senate minority stood strong and ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was rejected by the U.S. Senate today.

The CRPD, which would take away American sovereignty and threaten parental rights, needed two-thirds of the Senate in order to pass. Although it gained a majority of votes, it failed on a vote of 61–38. This is a great victory for parental rights, homeschool freedom, and children with special needs.

The U.S. Senate rejected a treaty which would have allowed UN bureaucrats to decide what is in the “best interests” of children with disabilities, instead leaving those decisions with parents and caregivers, which is what existing U.S. law already requires.

Yet despite this victory, the battle is not over. Shortly after receiving word of defeat, proponents of the convention vowed to bring it up in the next legislative session. Their strategy is to work with newly elected senators and try harder to persuade some of the current senators who voted against the CRPD to change their vote.

Other dangerous UN treaties could be brought up for ratification as well. These include the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention of the Rights of the Child.

We must stay informed and be ready at any moment to take action again. Without a Parental Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which would supersede these treaties, we are susceptible to these constant attacks against our rights as Americans and the right the raise our children how we see fit.

Thank you again to all of you who took action against this treaty and special thanks to those of you in the Congressional Action Program who came out to Washington, D.C. to lobby senators against the CRPD.

Without your support we could not stand for freedom. If you haven’t joined HSLDA to partner with us to protect parental rights and homeschool liberty, won’t you join today?